By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
INTERNATIONAL
Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy for peace negotiations, posted on X on Wednesday, the following declaration:
“Today, on behalf of President Trump, we are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President’s 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.
“Phase Two establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel. The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences.
“Importantly, Phase One delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages and the remains of twenty-seven of the twenty-eight deceased hostages. We are deeply grateful to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar for their indispensable mediation efforts that made all progress to date possible.”
Brian Romick, president and CEO of the Democratic Majority for Israel, described Phase Two of the Gaza peace plan as a “welcome step toward ending the conflict and creating a more stable future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But it must start with a simple reality: Hamas must be fully disarmed and must have no role in governing Gaza. A terrorist organization that carried out mass murder, took hostages, and continues to threaten Israel cannot be part of Gaza’s future. Real progress depends on moving Gaza away from armed control and toward responsible civilian governance.
“As Phase Two begins, the final remains of Ran Gvili must be returned without delay. Every family deserves closure, and commitments made in this process must be honored if there is to be any trust moving forward.
““Humanitarian aid must continue and grow to meet the real needs of civilians in Gaza. That assistance has to reach people directly and cannot be siphoned off by armed groups or used to keep the conflict going.”
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J-Street, commented: “We support the plan’s focus on Hamas’ demilitarization, Palestinian technocratic governance and reconstruction, and believe that serious diplomacy and international cooperation are essential to saving lives and keeping open a path toward a better future for Israelis and Palestinians rather than endless war.
“The humanitarian toll during Phase One was devastating: Hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, and ongoing restrictions on life-saving aid and the prevention of humanitarian aid organizations from operating in the Strip continue to leave civilians struggling to survive. Phase Two must deliver tangible relief – water, medicine, food and the ability to begin rebuilding lives – as well as the return of the last remaining deceased Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, to his family.
“Moving from ceasefire to durable calm requires real commitments from all parties: The Israeli government, regional and Palestinian actors and the international community. This means prioritizing civilian protection, ensuring the steady flow of humanitarian aid and establishing accountable governance and security arrangements that can hold over time and create a viable alternative to Hamas. It also requires the Israeli government to drop its objections to the Palestinian Authority’s participation in building these new governing and security mechanisms for Gaza.”
The leaders of Egypt, Turkiye, and Qatar, who helped to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, said in a joint statement that Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, would lead the technocratic committee.
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Adelaide Writers’ Week was canceled for this year in the wake of a controversy that saw 180 of 240 writers decide to boycott the event. Previously the board’s decided to disinvite Palestinian-Australian Randa Abdel-Fattah. Among those deciding to stay away from the event was New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The board issued a statement on Tuesday apologizing to Abdel-Fattah and announcing that all but one board member had resigned. “This is not about identity or dissent but rather a continuing rapid shift in the national discourse around the breadth of freedom of expression in our nation following Australia’s worst terror attack in history,” the board’s statement said.
Refusing to accept the apology, Abdel-Fattah said that “it adds insult to injury. The board again reiterates the link to a terror attack I had nothing to do with, nor did any Palestinian. The Bondi shooting (which killed 15 people celebrating the first night of Chanukah) does not mean I or anyone else has to stop advocating for an end to the illegal occupation and systematic extermination of my people – that is an obscene and absurd demand.”
Norman Scheuler, government and public liaison for the Jewish Community Council of South Australia, said, “I think for everyone who has dropped out that it’s rather pathetic because that means they agree with what Dr Fattah is on about… Namely, that Israel should not exist.”
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NATIONAL
Congresswoman Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, has collected more than 50 Democratic cosponsors on a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem since January 7 when ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good. Among the Jewish members who are cosponsors, so far, are Democratic Reps. Becca Balin of Vermont, Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Laura Friedman of California, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, and Brad Sherman of California.
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Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Minnesota) disclosed in an interview with The New York Times that she is being investigated by the Department of Justice for making a video with five other lawmakers that urged military and intelligence service personnel to refuse illegal orders. Slotkin is a former CIA analyst, who told The Times, “Facts matter little, but the threat matters quite a bit—the threat of legal action; the threat to your family; the threat to your staff; the threat to you.”
The others on the video were Democratic Reps. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Jason Crow of Colorado, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Kelly, who is under investigation by the Pentagon, faces an official letter of censure, reduction in his Air Force rank of colonel at retirement, with a corresponding reduction in pension payment.
He has since sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying, “His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”
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Deborah Lipstadt, this nation’s former special envoy to combat antisemitism, has partially walked back her comment in the wake of an arsonist setting fire to Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi. She originally said the attack was “another step in the globalization of the intifada.” But quizzed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after it was revealed that the alleged arsonist, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, had been influenced by right-wing Christians – and not by anti-Israel protesters — Lipstadt conceded that “it may have been inopportune for me to say that.” She added that Pittman obviously wasn’t a leftist nor an Islamist. On the other hand, she said, “If ‘globalize the intifada’ means attack Jews everywhere, then it certainly fits. So, it depends on how you want to interpret the sentence.”
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California’s two Democratic U.S. Senators – Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff — have cosponsored the No Political Enemies (NOPE) Act, legislation “to help protect individuals and organizations … from politically motivated harassment and prosecution by the federal government. Schiff commented, “From targeting media companies to nonprofit organizations to universities, Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing to silence and intimidate the president’s critics. Now more than ever, we need to reaffirm our Constitutional rights and prohibit the president from weaponizing the federal government against people who disagree with his administration. With this bill, we’re fighting back to ensure we continue to protect the American people’s rights and freedoms.”
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STATE & LOCAL
(Photo: Beth Israel Quarterly)
Rabbi Jason Nevarez of Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego writes, “The Iranian regime that crushes dissent at home, suppresses women, and terrorizes its own population is the same regime that fuels violence and antisemitism far beyond its borders. And yet, when Iranians courageously rise against it, too many voices suddenly disappear.
“Our tradition refuses selective compassion. We are taught that every human being is created b’tzelem Elohim – in the image of God. Justice is not a partisan value. Human dignity is not conditional. And moral clarity matters most precisely when it is inconvenient.
“To stand with the people of Iran does not require abandoning concern for others. It requires integrity – the willingness to say that oppression is wrong wherever it appears, and that innocent lives are worthy of our solidarity, always.”
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The Israeli-American Council condemned “the appalling slander leveled by California Senator Scott Wiener [D-San Francisco] against the State of Israel. Sen. Wiener released a video in which he accuses the Jewish State of committing a genocide in Gaza. Sen. Wiener must surely know that the collateral to combatant casualty ratio achieved by the Israel Defense Forces during military operations in Gaza is the best and most humanitarian ratio ever attained by any armed force in the history of urban combat. Claiming that Israel’s conduct is a ‘moral stain’ and a ‘genocide’ is nothing other than a blood libel and itself a moral stain. As one who traffics in the antisemitic demonization of the Jewish State, Sen. Wiener is not fit to serve as co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. We call for his immediate resignation.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.